For this week’s Follow Friday post I have selected the topic Social Media and Health Care. For people who don’t regularly read my Follow Friday posts, every Friday, avid social media users post people, or sometimes hashtags that they follow. People’s screen names on Twitter typically start with the at-sign, like @CaringBridge @BCAPledge and @HospStRaphael. Topics often start with a hashmark or pound sign to make them stand out, and are referred to as hashtags. The title of this post is made up of hashtags and twitter handles and might seem unintelligible, but is really conveying important information, especially to people who find this link on Twitter.

Perhaps one of the most important social media sites around health care is CaringBridge.

CaringBridge provides free websites that connect people experiencing a significant health challenge to family and friends, making each health journey easier. CaringBridge is powered by generous donors.

CaringBridge is a great site. However, some people are fighting health challenges that don’t rise to the level of ‘significant’. They might have a simple operation, like a knee replacement, where they will be up and running fine before they know it, but it is still helpful to have a discussion online. They might have a chronic, but not life threatening disease that they want to talk with friends about. Or, they might have a significant battle with cancer and want to talk about it to anyone that will listen. For some people like this, Facebook updates or blogs might be a better way to go.

One blog that especially touched me was Gotta keep on keepin' on........ At the top it says

Cancer again...that's 3 times in 2 years. This time it’s not breast cancer, but a new one called squamous cell carcinoma. New cancer, same old fighting spirit! My blog is still named for one of many songs that kept me going the first time around. Driving home from an upsetting appointment, I turned on the radio just as this line from Steve Miller Band's Jet Airliner was playing: "I've got to keep on keepin' on"....so I did just that. And I'll do it again.

Then, there is the most recent post from September

This is John. I just wanted to post a note on this, the first anniversary of Kate's passing. I am posting the same note on her Facebook page, so sorry to be redundant for those who see it both places.

Wow, it's hard to believe it has been a year now. In some ways it seems like yesterday and in others it seems like a lifetime ago. It's been a very busy, full year with school, sports, dance, piano and just normal-life stuff, then a very busy summer with swimming & travel and now getting ready for school again. We are all doing about as well as I could have hoped. The kids are amazing - their focus on happy memories and resilience have helped keep us all going. Kate is part of our lives every day...

On a more upbeat note, another friend wrote the blog My trip with breast cancer. She hasn’t written on this blog in close to two years. Instead she’s been busy with her family and work as a travel agent.

Besides support during difficult health situations, such blogs, and other social media campaigns provide an additional benefit, awareness. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many of the blogs I visit are participating in the The Pink Ribbon Challenge. It is a great way of reaching out to more people about breast cancer awareness.

October is breast cancer awareness month. As a health care worker, I see and dealt a lot of patients even friends going through the battle of breast cancer. This month I would like to join the pink ribbon challenge. Just click the pink ribbon to help one woman save life by getting free mammogram. If you  may join with me and pass the pink ribbon challenge. These links are ONLY for "Pink Ribbon Challenge" participants, any links not related to the Pink Ribbon Challenge will be deleted.  Grab the code at Things We Share and post it in your blog entry. Please post only the Pink Ribbon Challenge actual post link  here and  help The Breast Cancer Site and National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. by spreading the Pink Ribbon Challenge.

There are also various breast cancer awareness drives on Twitter. The Estee Lauder Companies Breast Cancer Awareness campaign has @BCAPledge and #BCAPledge. Others are using #pinkribbon and #breastcancer as hash tags. Here in Connecticut, The Hospital of St. Raphael, @HospStRaphael is also using social media to raise breast cancer awareness.

Another health issue is domestic violence, and October is also domestic violence awareness month. People are posting about this with the #domesticviolence and #DVAM hashtags. One important campaign on this front is The Red Flag Campaign.

The Red Flag Campaign is a public awareness campaign designed to address dating violence and promote the prevention of dating violence on college campuses. The campaign was created using a “bystander intervention” strategy, encouraging friends and other campus community members to “say something” when they see warning signs (“red flags”) for dating violence in a friend’s relationship.

Then, there is the political level, with many discussions about health care reform taking place on the #hcr hashtag. All of these only scratch the surface of social media and health care and I hope to be exploring this in more detail over the coming months.